


Questions of Faith

by Asundine



Series: Soulbound [2]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls Online
Genre: clockwork city, summerset, will update tags as the story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-03 03:24:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16318214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asundine/pseuds/Asundine
Summary: "You know, I spent years rehearsing exactly what I would say. I stood in front of the mirror, saying it over and over. Lord Seht, I stand before you as your loyal servant. Prayers of thanks, supplications… on and on.""And now?"Varuni sighed, "Now? I only have questions..."





	1. To The Clockwork City

The sky was almost completely clear above Mournhold, the ancestral home of House Indoril. The sun shone, drying the last of the morning dew as rose to illuminate the city. Within the already lively marketplace, a single Altmer gathered supplies as she prepared to leave.

"Loralina Asundine?" a voice inquired as the Altmer browsed one of the many market stalls.

The Altmer in question looked to the source, eyes the color of polished brass finding a Dunmer woman wearing grey and blue robes in the style of House Telvanni.

"Honor to you and your house, sera," the woman began, saluting Loralina, "My lord, Divayth Fyr, would speak with you at once."

Loralina raised a single golden eyebrow, "What does Divayth Fyr want with me?"

"Your aid, in exchange for a sizeable stipend," she answered. "Divayth Fyr seeks a powerful artifact and requires a companion. He insists that you are the only candidate worth considering." She paused for a moment before adding, "For now."

Loralina had to admit that her interest was piqued, the Dunmer continued, "Go to the Tribunal Temple here in Mournhold. Lord Fyr waits for you there."

"I suppose that I'll make my way there after I finish acquiring supplies," Loralina said.

The other woman nodded and walked away, presumably to inform Fyr of her acceptance.

Loralina finished her shopping and made her way to the Tribunal Temple on the northern side of the City. She ascended the long set of steps leading to the massive building, and softly entered through the doors at the main entrance.

The Tribunal Temple was significantly cleaner than the rest of the city, and the interior radiated a sense of peace that Loralina could only assume came from the presence Almalexia herself. The air was heavy with the smell of incense, and the heavy door blocked out the sounds of the city, leaving the interior unusually quiet. A Dunmer clad in black and red armor and robes leaned against one of the walls, and upon seeing Loralina he came to meet her.

"Ah, you’ve arrived at last," he said, "Come forward, we have much to discuss."

He met her near the middle of the room and finally introduced himself, "I am Divayth Fyr, wizard-lord of Tel Fyr. I trust no other introduction is necessary?" Loralina nodded and he continued, "I seek a Daedric artifact. It lies hidden in a brass city filled with danger, curiosity, and contradictions. You will accompany me, if you wish."

Loralina was cautiously intrigued, "What exactly would I be signing up for?"

"A voyage that only few have ever undertaken," Fyr answered. "We will travel to Sotha Sil's peculiar experiment - the Clockwork City. I have inquiries to make, you will assist me."

Loralina knew of the Clockwork City. When she was only a novice within the Psijic Order, she had been fortunate enough to attend one of the lectures that Sotha Sil himself gave on Artaeum. While he hadn't mentioned much about the Clockwork City, she already knew that its location was a secret to most people.

"You know how to reach the Clockwork City?" she asked.

"I do," he answered confidently. "The Tribunes are not so clever that they could hide such a place from me for long. The city is quite close… and also very far away. Just the first of Sotha Sil's many paradoxes. If you choose to join me, be prepared for many more."

Loralina considered this possibility for a moment before deciding, "All right. I'll work with you."

Fyr crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Of course you will. If you have no other preparations to make, we should depart immediately."

Loralina agreed, and Divayth Fyr led her out into the morning sunshine. He led her down past the docks to where a waterfall flowed near the back of the base of the Temple. They skirted around the edge of the water and into the cave hidden behind it. 

"Hmm," Fyr muttered. "Even draftier than I remembered." The cave opened into a much larger cavern that appeared to be a part of some kind of Daedric ruins. He came to stand on the first platform overlooking the ruin. "Welcome to the Dwarven hold of Bamz-Amschend… such as it is," he declared unenthusiastically. "Ironic that Ayem's holy city of Mournhold has Dwemeric roots, don't you think?"

Loralina stood next to Divayth, "I suppose so," she said.

"Curious," Fyr said. "Practically no one knows this route, but that scaffolding looks new." He gestured to the scaffolding that created a path through the ruin. "Built by rogue Ordinators, perhaps? Stay watchful."

He began down the path, and Loralina followed his lead.

"Sotha Sil always did admire Dwarven industry, albeit quietly. Perhaps that’s why he built his city here," Divayth mused. 

"I thought that the Dwemer and Chimer were enemies?" Loralina asked.

"They were enemies, then allies, then enemies again," Divayth answered with a sigh, "which is why it was somewhat taboo for Sil to admire them."

"You know him well then?"

Divayth scoffed, "No one truly knows Sotha Sil--not even his hordes of wild-eyed followers. I studied with him before his ascent, and even then he defied comprehension. His only true peer was Indoril Nerevar. Such a shame what happened to him."

Loralina knew of Nerevar. "Wasn't he murdered by Dagoth Ur?"

"The Tribunal would say so," Divayth said, "but others would say that the Tribunal murdered Nerevar so that they could take the power of the Heart of Lorkhan for themselves. Who's to say what really happened? Either way, Sil emerged from the mountain even more inscrutable than before."

"What do you think happened?"

"I think its irrelevant," he stated. "The silence of Sotha Sil may come from a place of grief and deep regret. It might be a side-effect of his fierce obsessions. Perhaps both? How he became a god is no concern of mine. I respect his knowledge, nothing more."

Their path ended in a round platform deeper within the run. At the center of the platform was a mechanism with a lever.

"This lift will take us to the nethermost depths of the ruin, and to our destination," Fyr explained as he pulled the lever. There was a creak of gears, then the floor beneath them shuddered and began to descend into the darkness below them.

Just before they were covered in darkness, lamps running in a line down the wall began to illuminate the lift. Loralina tried to count the lamps, but as the lift gained speed she quickly lost track. They stood in silence as the lift descended for what seemed like forever, before it finally came to a platform at the bottom.

"Do you see it, just across the ravine?" Divayth Fyr gestured to the end of their path, at which stood what appeared to be a large clockwork globe constructed of a series of moving brass rings. "That's our door."

The globe was guarded by no less than a dozen brass automatons, each armed with a sword and shield or a staff. As he approached, the factotums stood at attention, then moved aside to allow the duo to pass between them. "Sil's factotums still remember me. How touching."

The factotums did not flinch as they passed through, but moved back to their formation guarding the path as soon as they entered the globe. At the center of the globe there was a single pedestal, upon which stood what appeared to be a miniature city contained within another clockwork sphere.

"Is this it?" Loralina asked.

"Indeed," Fyr answered, "I'd say prepare yourself, but nothing can prepare you for whats to come. Touch the sphere. The Clockwork City awaits."

Following his instruction, Loralina placed her hand upon the globe containing the miniature city. The sensation of shrinking was indescribable, she watched as the world grew around her, then in an instant, she was teleported into the Clockwork City.


	2. The Pneumatic Forge

When the teleportation was complete, Loralina and Divayth Fyr stood on a platform in the middle of a dim brass chamber that was illuminated from below by a river of what appeared to be molten metal.

"What in the…" he started, "this isn't the Brass Fortress."

Then, Fyr's shadow began to move, then materialized into an almost tangible form separate from his body. It stood for a moment on its own before its eyes began to glow violet, and it reached within him to pull out some kind of energy before taking off in a hurry.

In an instant, Fyr recognized what had just happened and exclaimed, "My shadow! My power! Don't let it escape!"

The pair began to run after the shadow as the factotums at the perimeter began to activate. Loralina drew her staff from her back and in a single fluid motion threw a bolt of flame into the nearest machine. The flammable parts of the factotum instantly took the flame, and it was incinerated from within before it could even draw its weapon. The remaining three fell in a similar fashion, each conflagrated and left as smoldering shells.

They ran past the factotums and towards the door.

"Was that really your shadow?" she asked between breaths.

"Yes," he answered, "and perhaps something more. In removing my shadow our attacker removed some vital part of my animus. My soul, in the common parlance. Without it, my power is severely diminished. Needless to say, this will not do."

They passed through the door and onto what appeared to be a one of a series of bridges suspended over molten metal. Heat rose from the river below them, distorting the air at the edges of the chamber. If they had not been in such a hurry, Loralina might have taken time to take in the impressive scene, but instead the pair continued forth unfazed by the sight. Ahead of them, they could see the shadow take a turn down one of the other bridges.

"Do you have any idea what sent us here?" Loralina asked as they started onto the bridge.

"Not yet," Fyr answered brusquely. "We should have translocated directly to the Brass Fortress--Sil's chief municipality here in the Clockwork City. But somehow we ended up here. Vexing."

"And how exactly are we supposed to get out of here?"

"One step at a time, if you please," he answered. "We only need to find a landmark, or a map… or something. Once I determine where we are, it won't take long to find an exit."

"Do you know how to recover your shadow?" she asked.

"This may surprise you, but I've never had my shadow ripped from my body. Even so, I will devise a solution. Don't trouble yourself with the finer details. Just be prepared to fight," he said. "Much will depend on your ability. Do not fail me."

Loralina nodded and the pair raced on down the path that they had seen the shadow take. Ahead of them, they could see the shadow pass through pass through another door. Loralina's lungs burned, but the shadow ran on tirelessly and she knew that it would get away from them if she didn't intervene. Holding her staff in one hand she summoned a golden ribbon from the other which grew and wrapped itself around Fyr's wrist, tethering them together.

"Lets level the playing field, shall we?" she said as she began to channel a spell. They continued to run unhindered, but around them, it was as if everything began to slow. "I've slowed the flow of time," she explained. "Just a little trick I picked up on Artaeum. As long as you keep contact with me, you won't be affected."

With time now quite literally on their side, they easily caught up with the shadow, cornering it in one of the next chambers. It turned to face them, drawing a spectral staff from its back that mimicked Fyr's own.

"I recognize this place now. The Pneumatic Forge. We should leave here as soon as possible," Fyr said." Defeat this monstrosity, but don't kill it. I must reclaim my power."

Loralina nodded, then began to fight the shadow.

The shadow made the first move, slamming its staff down and channeling a spell that emitted a dark cloud of energy all around it. The edge of the mist brushed the tops of Loralina's exposed fingertips, and she felt it burn her skin. She jumped back out of the cloud, and the tether in her left hand alerted her that Fyr had also put distance between himself and the shadow. Loralina sent a bolt of pure force wrapped in fire to disrupt the shadow, and successfully set if off balance. She took the opportunity to launch another blast of flame at the shadow, and managed to hit it directly in its transparent chest. The shadow then raised its staff, unleashing a single burst of energy that split into four duplicates of itself, each which began to channel a part of another shadowy spell.

"Can't you just stop time and defeat them all?" Fyr asked.

"It doesn't work that way," Lora explained as she launched a blast of flame at the nearest one to disperse it. "Time manipulation requires a significant amount of my concentration, so my options are limited if I want to keep our advantage."

She turned to face the next two shadows and slammed down her staff. From the impact sprouted flames that raced along the floor to ignite the shadows from below. They evaporated like steam before her flames, and with a quick volley of flame, only one shadow remained.

"Sorry, Fyr," she said, "but I'm going to need both of my hands for a second." He looked to her just as she released the ribbon in her left hand, allowing the tether to disappear sparks of golden light. Now rejoined with the normal flow of time, Fyr could see a blue and gold halo blur the edge of Loralina's form. Taking her staff in both hands, Loralina held it above aloft, muttering an incantation as she twirled the staff above her head. Runes on her gauntlets and chestplate illuminated in a blue light, and her voice grew until finally with a final cry, a powerful blast of blue flame shot towards the shadow as their vision was blinded by her light.

When the light faded, Loralina had rejoined the flow of time, and the last shadow was on its knees. Taking this as his queue, Divayth Fyr began to mutter his own incantation as he approached the defeated shadow. It stood to meet him, and seemed to reenter his body without issue.

"Finally," he sighed. "You never know how much you miss a thing until it tries to kill you."

Their victory appeared to be short-lived, as more than two dozen factotums appeared, marching in formation and brandishing a variety of weapons.

"More ridiculous machines?" Fyr exclaimed, "I've had enough of this!"

Fyr withdrew his staff and slammed it down before him, sending a wave of force that instantly annihilated every factotum instantly.  He then stepped past the ruined factotums, leading the way out of the Pneumatic Forge.


	3. In Search of a Sponsor

Loralina and Divayth Fyr emerged from the Pneumatic Forge mostly unscathed, and approached the massive gates of the Brass Fortress along a long bridge spanning a great ravine. Outside, a variety of newcomers stood meandering, all except for one seemingly uninterested in their arrival. A Imperial woman stood before the gate, her dark hair pulled back to reveal a face painted with battle scars and brass armor covered by crimson robes that blended into her augmented limbs.

"Divayth Fyr!" she exclaimed. "I warned you never to come back!"

"Luciana Pullo. Hospitable as ever," Fyr smirked, turning to Loralina. "Go talk to her. I'll not waste my time speaking with a petulant toy soldier."

Loralina sighed and approached Luciana. While she was thankful for the opportunity to be able to join Fyr on this journey, she was really starting to resent the way that he treated her like his lackey.

"Hold there, friend of Fyr," the armored woman said. "I am Proctor Luciana Pullo, of the Clockwork Apostles. I don't know how you and this egomaniac breached Lord Seht's celestiodrome, but I won't have non-citizens stirring up mischief in the Brass Fortress."

"I am Loralina Asundine," she announced, "and while I am currently an accomplice of Divath Fyr, I have no intention to cause trouble here. How can I become a citizen here?"

Luciana seemed almost impressed, "Only just arrived and already trying to grease the gears? New arrivals must secure an endorsement from a citizen in good standing. I'm prepared to overlook your atrocious choice in companions if you can find a sponsor. Until then, you are tarnished."

"How do I get a citizen to sponsor me?"

"That's for you to find out. Not many citizens will risk their reputation on a green-heeled stranger--and you'll find no comfort from me. Maybe you should confer with the other tarnished over there." Luciana gestured to a small group of people standing outside the gate, looking out over the ravine. "In the meantime obey the law. I'll be watching."

Loralina nodded and returned to Divayth Fyr.

"Apparently, I need to become a citizen," Loralina told him.

"I'd figured as much," Fyr said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"I don't suppose that you could sponsor me?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not a full citizen either," he answered. "My relationship with Sil allows me to circumvent this absurd ritual, but I'm not technically able to sponsor anyone else. You'll need to navigate this on your own, and in the meantime our paths must temporarily diverge. I can ill afford a delay."

Loralina sighed, "Then I suppose I'll have to get through this as quickly as possible."

"I'm confidant that someone of your skills will have no problem proving yourself."

With that, Divayth Fyr headed into the Brass Fortress. Luciana stared daggers into him as he passed her, "Tread carefully, Fyr. I'll be watching. And if I find you or the Clockwork Blade within a hundred paces of the Imperfect again, I'll throw both of you into the Incarnatorium." Loralina didn't know the sort of shenanigans that he'd gotten up to in his last visit, but she could imagine that it must have been fairly severe to warrant that sort of a glare.

Loralina shook her head and turned towards the other newcomers, surprised to find some familiar faces.

"Loralina!" Neramo exclaimed. "What a fortuitous turn of events. I shouldn't be surprised. You have a knack for appearing when I need you most."

Loralina smiled at the sight of a friend in an unfamiliar land, "Neramo! Should I even be surprised that you managed to find your way here?"

"You know me all too well," he returned her smile, "I take it you haven't found a sponsor yet? Maybe we can help each other."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Initially, I thought we could rely on my ample charms to win us a sponsor. Unfortunately, the people here tend to value craft over the pleasure of my company. Providing some gift of service seems to be the only way to win a sponsorship."

"Have you found any potential sponsors?"

"Yes, a Clockwork Apostle named Varuni Arvel. Apparently, she's a member of the Congress of Calibration-- the governing body here in the city. My associates, Kireth and Raynor, are already working on a plan to earn her trust. Will you help us?"

Loralina raised both of her eyebrows, "Kireth and Raynor are here too? I haven't seen them since Coldharbour, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. It will be nice to work with you all again."

"This promises to be a fruitful collaboration!" Neramo said, clearly pleased. "I tasked Kireth and Raynor with finding gifts for Varuni, but I'm sure you know that they tend to wander. Kireth's just by the cliff. You should speak with her. In the meantime I'll conduct more research."

"Sounds good," Loralina nodded and left Neramo to whatever he'd been looking into before she arrived.

As promised, Kireth stood by the cliff overlooking the large canyon before the Brass Fortress.

"Loralina!" Kireth exclaimed, embracing her friend. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Loralina returned the brief embrace with a smile. "Neramo said that you and Raynor were going to work together to get a sponsorship, so I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help."

"So that pompous High Elf got his hooks in you too, huh?" Kireth sighed, "I told Raynor we should go it alone, but any house in an ash-storm right? Speaking of Raynor, he might need your help."

"Is he in trouble again?"

"Depends on your definition of trouble, I guess. He's down in the ravine--playing with firepot spiders for some reason. He wouldn't tell me more. Unfortunately, those spiders have a tendency to you know… explode."

Loralina sighed, "I'll go check on him."

"Thanks."

Loralina began to head towards the path that appeared to lead down into the ravine. As she passed the gate, she witnessed an exchange between two men, a Khajiit and a Clockwork Apostle.

"I gave you my word, didn't I?" the Apostle said, exuding an air of superiority about him. "Come, cat. We can discuss the specifics in my office."

The Khajiit seemed overjoyed at this turn of events, "A thousand blessings, walker! Lankin has much to offer the Brass Fortress."

The tired and now mildly annoyed Apostle began to lead him into the Brass Fortress, "Yes, I'm sure you do."

Paying little mind to the exchange, Loralina headed town the trail to the bottom of the canyon, where she found Raynor. He stood on the bank of a shallow river of what at first appeared to be dark water, but upon closer examination turned out to be oil. Hearing her approach, he turned and was pleasantly surprised to see Loralina.

“I shouldn’t be surprised to find you in this place,” he said with a smile. “I don’t suppose you’ve joined our band of outsiders?”

“I have,” Loralina nodded. “Kireth sent me down here to check on you.”

“Now look,” he started, almost annoyed, “I may lack Kireth’s natural talent with a blade, but I can accomplish this on my own. Varuni’s sure to sponsor us once I deliver this…” He sighed, visibly resigning himself, “oh, who am I kidding? I do need your help.”

Loralina gave him a knowing half smile, “What do you need me to do?”

“Firepot spiders contain a highly unstable, oil-like fluid,” Raynor explained. “The dangers inherent to acquiring it make it very valuable indeed. I discovered a way to prevent the spiders from detonating, but even diffused they’re more than capable of killing me.”

Normally, these sorts of spiders wouldn’t prove much of a challenge for Loralina. Under other circumstances, she could just wade into the middle of them and light them up like a bonfire, incinerating them with little effort. However, if she used her flame spells she would risk igniting the oily river they waded through. Not to mention they still needed to be able to salvage the most flammable parts of the constructs. “If I keep them still, could you siphon them?”

Raynor nodded, and Loralina summoned a golden ribbon from her left hand. It wound its way through the air as if carried by the breeze, and wound itself around Raynor’s forearm. “I’ll stop time so that you can get to the spiders,” she explained as the world around them seemed to hold its breath. “Just don’t let the ribbon touch the spiders and you’ll be free to do what you will to the spiders.”

“Brilliant,” Raynor exclaimed with a smile. He made his way to the nearest firepot spider, and began to attach some contraption he likely invented just for this purpose to the body of the creature. After a few moments, he detached the device and moved onto the next one. After he’d visited five of the constructs, he returned to Loralina. Once he was out of harm’s way, Loralina dispelled the ribbon, and time itself let out the breath it had been holding. The spiders Raynor had siphoned seemed completely unharmed, and Raynor’s contraption held a quantity of oil that he believed would make a sufficient gift.

“Let’s take this oil to Varuni,” Raynor said cheerfully. “Neramo said that she has an office in the Clockwork Basilica. Hopefully this will be enough to earn a sponsorship.”

The duo headed back up the trail to the gate. “That time manipulation spell of yours really is quite useful, isn’t it.”

“I suppose so,” Loralina shrugged, “but it requires so much of my concentration and magicka that it isn’t good for much if I don’t have a partner who can make good use of it.” 

Raynor smiled, and they returned to the gates to regroup with Neramo and Kireth.

“What do you have there?” Kireth asked, looking to the device in her brother’s hands. 

“We used this to gather firepot oil for Varuni,” Raynor stated proudly.

Kireth and Neramo seemed impressed, “Excellent!” the latter exclaimed. “Hopefully this will be enough to impress Varuni.”

“I suppose there's one way to find out,” Kireth said. “Lets go and present this to her.”

They agreed, and with that they headed into the Brass Fortress to meet their future sponsor for citizenship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so that you know where this is going, I'm going to be basically following the plot of the Clockwork City and Summerset DLC of ESO. I want to follow the in-game story as much as possible, but I know that it will end up diverging as the story progresses. For those of you who read the early draft of Soulbound, this takes place about 30ish years later and will involve the same characters. (Most of the main cast will be introduced by the fifth or sixth chapter.)


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